Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.

It’ll take a miracle

Project countdown: 6 days.

I just bought a plane ticket. …

I just bought a plane ticket. …

I just bought a plane ticket.

I didn’t realize it was possible to experience this wide of a range of emotions. First of all, I feel like such an adult. Like yeah, I just bought a plane ticket, with my own money, to fly by myself. Look out real world, here I come! (Well, kind of.)

With that, of course, comes some nervousness, and dare I say it, a little fear. I’ve flown before, but never by myself. There’s a long layover in some city in North Carolina that I’ve never heard of. I’ve only ever flown twice before, and only one of those had a layover, and I was with a bunch of people that I knew, as well as “real” adults who knew what they were doing.

There’s also a slight cringe in the back of my mind at the state of my bank account, and no small amount of worry there either. This is the first time in my life that I’ve legitimately had to… I won’t say worry, but think about having money, and where and when I spend it so that I can afford everything I need. It hasn’t been fun, let me tell you. This real world stuff is pretty hard. But I’ve also learned a lot. I know how to be smart with my money, and that’s what’s important.

Above all, I’m just plain excited. This suddenly became a whole lot more real to me. I was accepted to this project back in… February, was it? Wow, that seems like a long time ago. A lot has happened since then. But really, it’s one thing to say, in February, “I’m spending the summer in Miami on a mission trip. I leave on May 28th.” It’s quite another to say, on May 22nd, “I just bought a plane ticket for Miami. I leave from O’Hare at 7:45 on the 28th.” That makes things a whole lot more real.

If I’m being honest, this is the first moment that I’ve gone from thinking if I go to Miami to when I go to Miami. For a while, I wasn’t sure if that was where I was supposed to be this summer. I saw my family for the first time in a couple months, and I realized how much we’re going to miss each other. Support raising wasn’t going so well, and I was worried I wouldn’t get the funding I need in time. Now I’m feeling much more confident. I have a week to spend with my family before I go, and I’m trying to make the most of it. I’ll also have some time to spend with them when I get back. Support raising is still hard, but it’s going well, and I’m 100% certain that one way or another, God will provide the funds I need. I’ve always known that it will take a miracle to get me to Miami. What I know now is that there’s a miracle headed my way!

Am I nervous? Yes. Am I scared? All things considered, not really. Am I excited? You bet! This is going to be one of the best summers of my life, as well as one of the most challenging.

And when I look back on it in the future, I’ll remember that for me, the adventure began not with an application or an acceptance letter, but with the purchase of a plane ticket.